The Union Cabinet has approved several proposals in its meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. Among the Cabinet decisions were promulgation of an ordinance to amend Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, sanction funds for Census 2021 and National Population Register, and organisational restructuring of Indian Railways.
The Cabinet also approved appointment of a chief of defence staff (CDS), who will act as a single-point military advisor to the government. A department of military affairs headed by the CDS will also be constituted under the defence ministry.
Here is a look at the major decisions taken at the Cabinet meeting today:
National Population Register and Census 2021
The Cabinet has approved the proposal for conducting Census of India 2021 and National Population Register (NPR) in its meeting on Wednesday. Funds to the tune of Rs 8,754.23 crore have been sanctioned for Census 2021, whereas Rs 3,941.35 crore has been delegated for NPR. Census 2021 will cover the entire population of India. NPR will also cover the entire population except in the state of Assam.
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Amendments to Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
The Union Cabinet also approved promulgation of an ordinance to amend Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code to weed out ambiguities in the law and ensure its smooth implementation. The amendments in the IBC mandate that a corporate debtor will not be held accountable for any offence committed prior to the resolution process. Corporate debtors will not be prosecuted for such an offence from the date the resolution plan has been approved by the Adjudicating Authority, if the resolution plan results in the change in the management or control of the corporate debtor.
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Organisational reforms in Indian Railways
The Cabinet has approved organisational restructuring of Indian Railways in order to streamline the national transporter. The reforms include unification of the existing eight Group-A services of the Railways into Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS). Unification of services will end departmentalism, promote smooth working of Railways, expedite decision making and create a coherent vision for organisation, the government said. Under the new reforms, the Railway Board will no longer be organised on departmental lines. The board will have a Chairman, who will act as CEO, along with 4 members responsible.
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Chief of Defence Staff
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has announced the post of chief of defence staff (CDS). In line with the recommendations of Kargil Review Committee in 1999, the CDS will be the single-point military adviser to the government. A department of military affairs headed by the CDS will be created under the defence ministry. The CDS will be a four-star general and his salary will be equivalent to that of service chiefs. The Cabinet committee also approved the report of a high-level committee, headed by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, which finalised responsibilities and the enabling framework for the CDS.
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Atal Bhujal Yojana
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Atal Bhujal Yojana for sustainable management of ground water resources. The Cabinet has approved Rs 6,000 crore for the scheme, which will be equally bore by the Government of India and the World Bank. Atal Bhujal Yojana will cover 8,350 villages across Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The corpus of Rs 6,000 crore will be for all seven states listed under the first leg of the scheme.
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